Wow, this is not only funny, it makes me nostalgic. I remember saving up my allowance quarters, dimes and nickels and trudging all the way to the Bethany Hill Sweet Shop/Pharmacy. It had the lunch counter/soda jerk, the big people's magazine stand (the pharmacist/owner didn't sell you MAD Magazine unless you were at least thirteen years old - this was before PMRC and parent advisory stickers, folks! This guy hated The Beatles, The Stones and The Doors because the were commie subversive hippie heathen hedonists - I barely knew what he was talking about, my favorite bands as a seven year old kid was The Banana Splits, The Archies and the cartoon Beatles on television)and the tall cylindrical comic book racks that had the Marvel and DC superheroes, the Archies stuff, the Sad Sacks, some one off Dell and Gold Key stuff,like Abbott and Costello, Three Stooges, The Mighty Heroes, etcetera. Oddly, no Donald Duck or Bugs Bunny comics. At an old barn near my family's house, I remember finding besides some ancient stashed away porn, a stack of Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis comics, that struck me as at the time as comics for grown-ups. Some moronic gorilla-like older kids stole them from me and used them for kindling to make a bonfire in the woods, almost burning down the woods and the neighboring houses. I like to think they got their backsides paddled severely. Anyway, good times.

This looks hilarious. The drawings throughout the outline are really nice. I want a John K./Jim Smith sketchbook! Sorry if I am a bit out of touch but where/when will the George Liquor Program be broadcast?

If there is one thing which should be MOST APPARENT to any reader who visits your blog, then it is your dedication and deep love for your work and your fans.

I am reading your blog since April 2006 and over this period, I have learned SO MUCH about classic animation that it renewed my love and fascination for this medium, which almost got drowned in the mid 90's and early 00's. Through you, I rediscovered the Looney Tunes, and finally, I can put into words why I never really liked Disney movies and modern cartoon series, which I was supposed to love according to studio executives, but never did.

I also discovered your work by importing the Ren & Stimpy DVD sets (which were never released here in Germany), and what I really love about them is how hard you guys worked to remind us of the most important and enduring aspect of animation: it is a VISUAL medium. Epidodes like Stimpy's Invention, Sven Höek and Man's best friend are unbelieveable. Unbelieveable that after decades of blandness and decay in animation, suddenly there comes this TV series which literally knocks you out of your socks. The artwork and animation is UNBELIEVEABLE. The strong point of Ren and Stimpy NEVER were the grossed out parts (which I also highly enjoy). The strong point of the series aleays was the fact that you guys are masters at telling stories visually. One episode Ren & Stimpy = more visual concepts than every cartoon series produced in the 70's and 80's together. And this being done on a TV budget!!

The APC episodes are constantly being treated unfairly because everyone is jumping on you for the sexual content in an Adult Cartoon. By delivering exactly what the network wanted. I makes me really angry that many people totally dismiss the fact that apart from more sexual jokes, EVERYTHING which made the original series a tour de force is in the APC episodes. That, and much more.

I always laugh at people complaining about APC, saying it changed Ren & Stimpy soo much, yet in the original episodes, you guys managed to hide lots of sexual undertones in it, like raining sperms, etc.

To make it short: you have been and still are a huge inspiration to many people in the world. Your work will stand the test of time, when all trends of yesterday and today will be gone. Future generations in their atomic bunkers will still laugh their ass off seeing George Liquor making Ren drop twenty...

>>I always laugh at people complaining about APC, saying it changed Ren & Stimpy soo much, yet in the original episodes, you guys managed to hide lots of sexual undertones in it, like raining sperms, etc. >>

I got the old show had sexual undertones. Me and other critics just think there were enough sexual undertones in the old show and it didn't need to be more explicit. It's not so hard to understand.

I get that maybe the channel asked for more adult content. I understand the idea of a cartoon like Naked Beach Frenzy. It's a cartoon about sexy girls. Tex Avery is perhaps a little too tame for today standards, so this one was more explicit. But the shampoo master kind of gags are not my kind of thing, even though it has some absurdity that makes it a little less gross.

>>EVERYTHING which made the original series a tour de force is in the APC episodes>> Maybe, but there were aspects of the original series we didn't see in APC. Maybe those didn't make it a tour de force but I thought there were a wider range of gags, different types, things aimed at children and others to adults. Thing is the stuff aimed at children increases the charm for the adults too, and not only because of nostalgia. Just because there's more variety.

"Ren Seeks Help" was a violent psycho-thriller, inspired by cinema noir. All the violence served to the story. The use of the adult content is justified. But other stories (like "Altruists", for example) were lighter and I think a less "adult" approach would have worked better. It was still beautiful to look at, though.

I hate it when the clerk tells you that you can't read the comic book until after buying it. How the hell do you know if the comic is going to be worth buying or not. It's even worse when the comic is covered in plastic and it is unable to be opened that sux! The outline looks great and i can't wait to see more liqour.

I'll double the comment about beautiful compositions; scenes using perspective... the table in the breakfast scene with bobby, slab and ernie at the end of the street, he hog looking at the beating, and the afore- mentioned bobby on top of hill scene. Alot of foreground to background dynamic.

Bobby at the breakfast table is like a childhood version of that Citizen Kane scene when he's seated at the dining table all alone.

I don't know if you like Anthony Mann's films, but he used compositions with a high horizon line, that accented the play between foreground and background.

definitely, i'm happy seeing you all are putting some energy into making some comics. more funny comics again, i say! @lastangelman, i remember saving dimes, leafing through my jar of change, filtering out the pennies, running to store around the corner to buy candy and comics. the owner who also ran the register would sometimes multiply the price by 10 with a grin. I'd feel so sad, and hang my head believing him because I was 5, but then he'd give me a break and sell it to me (for the actual price). I'd be so happy. Then I got cavities.

There is something that really stands out for me reading this blog. *tears well up* It is a group of people so dedicated to the craft, especially JohnK, they're not only willing to share their process, but its also putting every bit of passionate soul into each project. Love it.

There's something wrong here. The bullies are punished, but Bobby is praised for wanting to become *gasp* a writer of comic books!

Can't He-Hog see the ticking time bomb before his eyes? Wouldn't it better if He-Hog attempted to reeducate the lad? For instance:

Bobby: Someday, I'M going to be a writer of comic books, He-Hog!HH: (shocked)Saint James Imfirmary! Let me see your hands! Just as I thought; as soft and squishy as a bag of rancid marshmellows! Bobby, don't you know there are special excercises that build muscles and promote creativity?Bobby: You mean pumping iron?HH: No, my corpulant companion,I mean (whips out a pencil) PUSHING LEAD! Develope hand-eye co-ordination! Expand the visual centers of your brain! Grow hard,manly callouses on your fingers! Build rugged arms and shoulders from carrying heavy art supplies around!Bobby:(drooling) Golly!HH; Bobby, the world of words is a cold dark place, full of rambling descriptions and pages of exposition. But with visuals, Bobby, the world comes alive! Wonderous worlds! Worlds upon Worlds! They all start right here Bobby (indicates pointy lead of pencil)Master this and the world is yours!Bobby: (ponders gleaming pencil for a moment) Gee, He-Hog, that seems like an awful lot of work. I think I'll just stick to writing.(He-Hog beats up Bobby.) END.

Sorry for the double posting but believe it or else, I don't see many kids in the comic book store I go to. They are mostly adults. I buy super hero comics sometimes but I mostly buy more mature adult ones like Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge.